A man spray-paints a lawn in Southern California during a severe drought. (CBS)A man spray-paints a lawn in Southern California during a severe drought. (CBS)

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— A Pleasant Hill resident is the first on his block to have a golf-course green lawn thanks to spray paint, but don’t worry, it’s eco-friendly.

It’s an idea that’s catching on as more California residents are coping with the fourth year of drought, turning their lawns dead and brown, and who may be yearning for the days of lush green grass.

Robert Brittain heard about a company out of Dixon in Solano County that uses eco-friendly green paint or colorant for lawns that have gone brown, like his.

Before Brittain gets started, he pulls out the weed wacker to give things a little trim.

“I don’t have to worry about turning on my sprinklers and running gallons of water through the ground, but missing the lawn and getting the driveway and the street and all that water being wasted,” he said.

Bill Schaffer of Brown Lawns Green says the concept for his company came to him like a thunder bolt when he was in Reno and saw brown lawns. He thought to himself people are going to have to start painting their lawns green during this drought. That epiphany happened a few months ago and now business is booming.

“It had gone from a couple of jobs to this week, which is completely booked. We’re filling up next week.” He said they have about 100 people on a waiting list in Los Angeles.

He says depending on the size of your lawn, the green color will last anywhere from six to eight weeks, but maybe longer.

Brittain loves his new lawn. But what about the water cops?

“Now that my lawn’s so green they’re going to think that I watered the lawn a bunch. But [Schaffer] hung a sign up front to let everyone else that it was done by painting,” he said.

Drivers in the neighborhood were doing a double-take as they glanced at Brittain’s bright, green lawn.